• Question: what do you think about nuclear power yes or no

    Asked by sassyangel18 to David, James, Mike, Suze, Will on 14 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by kieran98.
    • Photo: William Eborall

      William Eborall answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I think nuclear power is necessary for the UK over the next 20/30 years.

      As a country we’re committed to producing 12.5% less CO2 next year than we did in 1990. In order to do this we can’t build any more fossil fuel power stations. But on the other hand I don’t think we have a sustainable alternative that can produce enough low CO2 electricity for the same cost as could be done with fossil fuels yet. The only source of electricity we have (that I know of) that could make enough electricity to offset a coal power station is nuclear.

    • Photo: Suze Kundu

      Suze Kundu answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I say YES! It needs to be something that is carefully thought about but as long as it is done safely, then it’s a real contender for a reliable future power source.

    • Photo: Mike Dodd

      Mike Dodd answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      I also say yes! I think that if handled safely, it is a very good fuel source and Suze said “a real contender for a reliable future power source”

    • Photo: James Marrow

      James Marrow answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      It’s a yes. We need to replace our oil/gas plant, and unless carbon sequestration works (“stuffing in down a hole and expecting it won’t come back out”), then we’ll cause an awful lot of global warming. In the long term, we need to reduce the amount of waste. We can handle it now, but if there is a major increase in the number of nuclear plants then we will have a problem in finding suitable places for long term disposal. That is why new ways of reducing the activity of waste (using it in “fast reactors” or changing it with particle accelerators), then we will have a big problem in the next 50-100 years. Photo-voltaics are great, but it’s hard to run a steelworks or a car factory without a solid base of electricity.

    • Photo: David Ingram

      David Ingram answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Yes – we need a balance of energy generation. A lot of people are scared of Nuclear power but if you look carefully into it, it is not as dangerous as we fear (unless there is a big accident). Lots of people fly in planes and occasionally they crash (a big accident) but we still use them.

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